The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it. […] But there was not a more lascivious reprobate and gourmand in all London than this same Greystone.

A senior member of a twelve step or similar program assigned to a guide a new initiate and form a partnership with him.

My narcotics anonymous sponsor became my best friend when I finally was able to do something about my meth problem.‎

One that pays all or part of the cost of an event, a publication, or a media program, usually in exchange for advertising time.

Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.